Mr Simpson based his claims on an article in the Daily Mirror written in 1930 by British right-wing MP and Nazi sympathiser Oliver Locker-Lampson, which suggested Hitler thought the sport could be useful for military recruits.

'He desired to study it as a possible medium for the training of troops off-duty and in times of peace,' the MP wrote.

However, Hitler believed that the quintessentially English game was not aggressive enough and suggested banning the use of pads as he considered them to be 'unmanly and un-German'.

Earlier this month, declassified documents released by MI5 showed that Hitler Youth groups attempted to establish links with the Boy Scouts, while the Secret Service feared German students were spying when on cycling tours of Europe.